PHYSICIAN-IN-TRAINING / MEDICAL STUDENT CATEGORY
WINNER
2016 RICHARD SPEAR, MD, MEMORIAL ESSAY CONTEST
EXPLORING HUMAN CONNECTION FOR PHYSICIANS WITHIN SOCIAL MEDIA Kara Curry, DO
A
close friend of mine once described training in medicine as learning secrets no one else knew about the human body. I took that to mean the majority of the population will never have access, limited by whatever means, to the vastness of medical information a physician has the privilege to encounter during training and beyond. After experiencing residency first-hand, I have learned that there are all sorts of secrets kept from the general public in regards to the training of physicians and how medicine is actually practiced.
Such secrets are not all bad, neither are they purely factual in nature. Rather, the physician-in-training comes across many unexpected experiences, relationships and emotions, which can be surprisingly delightful( even though one imagines the majority of residency training to be rather daunting). For instance, there is camaraderie formed when an upper-level resident passes on his or her skills and walks an intern or medical student through his or her first procedure of some kind. There are strong bonds formed between the members of a medical team, even if only working together for a month on a service, as most residency rotations are designed. There are memories formed with and about patients— subtleties we learn about them, their lives, and funny moments with them that are cherished. How could I not find the following conversation between one of my geriatric patients and I humorous?
I: It looks like you have a UTI. Have you ever taken Bactrim? Patient: [ suspiciously ] How would you know I have a UTI?
I: You gave us a urine sample to analyze. Patient: [ begrudgingly ] Well I hope you enjoyed it!
Only first-hand experience with patients will leave you speechless from their witty responses, though more prepared to handle them the next time. Only first-hand experience can provide you with tales one could never make up.
Another secret is that sometimes residents depend on their patients to provide reassurance and encouragement that they are indeed making good doctoring decisions and continuing on the right career path. When we are having an attack of self-doubt and colleagues or advisors are far from reach, the patients can lift us up. If that support really seems nowhere to be found, social media can serve as a sort-of substitute for the role of advisor, informant or source of comic relief.
It starts long before one enters medical school, before undergraduate studies even. Nowadays, prospective medical students scour the internet to research the surest path to land a place in medical school. Everyone has visited studentdoctor. net, where opinions and ideas are freely expressed by professionals at different points in their careers regarding an unlimited, randomly updated stream of topics related to training in medicine. After reading the dos and don’ ts advised by others who have already“ been there and done that,” one may leave the site feeling confident, prepared to pursue medical training, or more neurotic than ever. And after acceptance to medical school, when attempting to pin down a desired specialty’ s expectations of an applicant, many find themselves there yet again, of course regretting the visit afterwards.
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